Florian Schaffner

GUEST CURATOR

Florian Schaffner, Zurich, Switzerland.

Swiss born Florian Schaffner is a co-founder of up&coming, an online platform for young Swiss art with over 100 up and coming artists in their portfolio. He has undergone studies in Beijing, Zurich and Geneva and is currently coursing a PhD in Economics at the Zurich University. He also co-founded Print Matters!, a cult-magazine store, which offers hard to find magazines from around the world in its successful pop-up shops. As an art enthusiast himself, he recommends Eugene M. Schwartz’ booklet “Confessions of a poor collector” to all new art collectors. The following lines show the entrepreneur's personal selection for Artig Gallery artworks.

“I like works that create complex structures through simple elements. Gyula Sagi’s artworks for instance show regular geometric patterns, which have been given a new dynamic through a few disarranged horizontal lines. Through the disruptions attention is drawn to the paintings and the observer is able to discover new aspects of the works.

Dirk Broemmel’s Impulse-series shows a similar approach: we are shown photographs of antennas on a white background, attached through fixed lines that lead nowhere. This combination of an ordinary object extended through drawings, puts the antennae in a new context and creates a new meaning for them. Maybe I would have taken some time to discover the reference to Duchamp, but after reading the artist’s portrait, the connection became quite clear to me.

Different from the previously mentioned artists, Carla Cascales creates works with a minimalist approach, creating with only 5 to 6 brushstrokes and the use of only 2 colours an instantly recognisable object. The Paintings remind us of works by Picasso and Matisse, but they manage to still be autonomous in their perspective and presence.

.

The photorealistic paintings by Luis Gomez MacPherson are visually very distinct from the previously selected artists. He combines, similar to Sagi’s works, calm and neatly arranged compositions with dynamic backgrounds. We are given the feeling that something has happened to the walls, but we are too late, everything is back in its place, just as it used to be. At first glimpse the painting can be taken for a photograph, which is due to their impressive technical quality.

At last, I would like to include Martina Matencio’s Photographs into my selection. At first, her pictures may remind of a fashion photoshoot, but when taking a closer look, incredibly exciting details come to live. The liquid that slowly meanders over a leg (Here With Me), the shadow of the hands on the girl’s back by the pool (El Olvido), or the drops of water on an inclined person’s back (Landscape). Matencio manages to create solemnly through her game of light and shadow a beautiful and sensual ambience.”